What You Get for ... $1,500,000

A 1971 house with expansive views of the Pacific Ocean is on the market in Big Sur, Calif., for $1,499,000.CreditChristopher Stark for The New York Times

By Mike Powell

Jan. 29, 2014

BIG SUR, CALIF.

WHAT: A two-bedroom two-bath house and a one-bedroom guesthouse

HOW MUCH: $1,499,000

SIZE: 1,620 square feet (total)

PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT: $925

SETTING: Big Sur is a coastal community in central California, where the cliffs of the Santa Lucia Mountains meet the Pacific Ocean. This house is perched 800 feet over a cove and beach, with panoramic views of the Pacific from nearly every room. The property is 8.8 acres, with private hiking trails that wind into a redwood forest. State land, campgrounds and nature preserves are nearby, keeping the area rural and low-key. The beach is about a five-minute drive, just west of a scenic stretch of the Pacific Coast Highway. There’s a convenience store a few miles away in Gorda, and more shopping in Cambria and central Big Sur, both of which are about a 50-minute drive.

INDOORS: The main house and guesthouse were built in 1971 and extensively renovated within the past 10 years. The floor plan of the main house is inverted, with a lower level built into the property’s slope. Through the front door is a great room with pitched cedar ceilings, oak floors and windows on three sides overlooking the water. The room also has a wood stove, and opens to a wraparound deck facing the ocean. Stainless-steel kitchen appliances and handmade wood cabinets, in addition to new bathrooms and hardware throughout, were installed during the renovation.

The lower level of the main house has polished concrete floors, and a den with a wide stone fireplace. Sliding-glass doors open to a grassy area facing the water. One of the bedrooms is on the entry level; the other is on the lower level. The one-bedroom guesthouse is next to the main house and was also renovated within the last 10 years.

OUTDOOR SPACE: The property has a forested section toward one side and a clear, grassy area facing the water.

SETTING: Alexandria is on the Potomac River, about six miles from Washington. This 1870 brick-front house is in Old Town, a historic district known for its 18th- and 19th-century townhouses. Some are now used as boutiques, galleries and restaurants; most are still single-family homes. King Street, a commercial corridor lined with brick sidewalks and gas-lamp-style streetlights, is two blocks away. There’s a bus stop a block away, and a Metro train stop on King Street. The train commute into Washington takes about 25 minutes.

INDOORS: The townhouse was extensively renovated within the last year. The front door opens to a long living-and-dining area with crown molding and dark wooden floors. The first-floor kitchen, added during renovations, has Viking appliances and Carrara marble countertops. French doors in the kitchen open to the backyard; the hallway bar opens to a small side patio.

Bedrooms are on the house’s second floor. The master has a pitched ceiling and opens to a Juliet balcony.

During renovations, the owners dug into the backyard to create an underground family room with a glass ceiling that, above ground, doubles as a patio.

WHAT: A three-bedroom two-bath main house and a one-bedroom guesthouse on nearly 35 acres

HOW MUCH: $1,495,000

SIZE: 2,658 square feet

PRICE PER SQUARE FOOT: $562

SETTING: Jarreau is a rural community in Pointe Coupee Parish, about a half-hour’s drive from Baton Rouge. This 18th-century Creole home has a distinctive pavilion roof and is on nearly 35 acres of pasture and fields, with a man-made pond and a small oak forest. The parish is known for its 18th- and 19th-century architecture, with more than 30 structures on the National Register of Historic Places, including this house. The False River, an oxbow lake once connected to the Mississippi River and now used for boating, bass fishing and other sport, is about a 5-minute drive away. New Roads, the parish seat, is about 15 minutes away.

INDOORS: The oldest parts of the main house date back to 1790. Built in Opelousas, about 60 miles west of Baton Rouge, it was moved to Jarreau in 1994. Many of the original features are intact, including sandstone and cypress floors, and exposed ceiling beams. Others, including four brick fireplaces, are period or reproduction. (The seller went so far as to have nails handmade.) Both the main house and guesthouse have geothermal air conditioning and central heat.

Common areas in the main house include a living-and-dining room on the entry level and a sitting area upstairs, both with fireplaces and French doors opening to porches. (The upper-level porch is enclosed.) The living-and-dining room has a sandstone floor, as does the kitchen, which was updated in 2000. One of the bedrooms is on the entry level. The other two are upstairs. Two of the bedrooms have fireplaces. The upstairs bathroom has a copper tub.

In addition to the guesthouse, the property also has an 18th-century barn and a contemporary 3,000-square-foot metal building with concrete floors and partial air-conditioning.

OUTDOOR SPACE: The main house has more than 1,200 square feet of porch and patio. The property is part cleared and part wooded, with pasture, sugarcane fields, live oaks and a small pond.